From my diary (March 2007)
Taking advantage of the
mid-semester break at my University, in March I take the three-hour flight from
Brunei to Bangkok, for a short visit. Thailand is the first Buddhist country I
visit.
Bangkok is
one of the most chaotic and polluted cities I’ve ever been to. However, what
the city lacks by way of allure, it makes up for in pockets of great beauty, as
witness its Buddhist temples.
I arrive at the
Rambuttri Village Inn – a guesthouse recommended to me by a friend – at about ten in the evening, to
find there are no vacancies. Or, to be precise, there is a vacant room, only it is a ‘special’
room that is a little more expensive: fifteen euros instead of ten. I take it
immediately, thinking I might move to a cheaper one the following morning (which
I am later unable to do). I am not sure whether the guesthouse is this busy
before the day is out due to its popularity or, if I may say it, because the
manager is happy with the five extra euros. I obviously don’t
insist; after all, the room is comfortable and
relatively silent.
In
the morning, I begin my exploration of the city, feeling excited and thrilled. Setting
out on foot in the scorching sun, I come to the famous Wat Phra Kaew, the ‘Temple of the Emerald Buddha’ (wat being
the Thai word for ‘temple’)...
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